Various exercises are utilized for toning, strengthening, and rehabilitating muscles of the back and lower body. Among these exercises is the “squat” exercise. The squat exercise involves execution of a variable depth knee bend from a standing position while placing a resistance load upon the body. Traditionally, squat exercise are performed using equal amounts of free weights disposed on each end of a barbell, with the barbell extending across the user's shoulders and resting on his or her upper trapezius muscles. The barbell is held in place by the user gripping the bar with his hands, preferably with a slightly wider than shoulder width grip. More recently, squat exercise machines have been developed in which a variable number of weight members held in a vertical tower of the machine are selectively coupled to lift arms, which the user presses vertically upward to raise the weight members within the tower. The lift arms are coupled to the weight members with a cable and pulley system.
The squat exercise requires caution and ability to perform safely and effectively. A proper squat exercise involves holding a proper stance, adequately supporting the weight against the user's body, maintaining a straight lower back, inclining the trunk through a certain range of inclination, lowering to a position where the thighs are ranged horizontally, and extending the hips and legs from a lowered position to an upright position.
Users may apply various weights for the squat exercise. Regardless of the applied weight, the user may have difficulty moving through a lowering or rising motion during the squat exercise. Providing improved safety and control of when and how the weight is applied to the user during the squat exercise may provide certain advantages.
One type of squat exercise machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,500,608 issued to Roberto Bonomi and assigned to Rhiannon Corp. In this patent, a squat exercise apparatus includes a slidable weight bar assembly along with hand brake assemblies for engaging and disengaging the weight bar assembly with a support frame. Similar squat based exercise machines can also be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,909,743 and 7,115,080. Both of these references are herein incorporated by reference for all that they disclose.